It’s Limerick-Off time, once again. And that means I write a limerick, and you write your own, using the same rhyme word. Then you post your limerick as a comment to this post and, if you’re a Facebook user, on Facebook too.

I hope you’ll join me in writing a limerick using BEAT or BEET at the end of Line 1 or Line 2 or Line 5. (Homonyms or homophones are fine.)

Additionally, you may write a themed limerick related to EDUCATION, using any rhyme scheme. And of course I’ll present an extra award — one for the best EDUCATION-related limerick.

How will your poems be judged? By meter, rhyme, cleverness, and humor. (If you’re feeling a bit fuzzy about limerick writing rules, here’s my How To Write A Limerick article.)

I’ll announce the winners on March 6, 2016, right before I post the next Limerick-Off. So that gives you two full weeks to submit your clever, polished verse. Your submission deadline is Saturday, March 5, 2016 at 10:00 p.m. (Eastern Time.)

Here’s my limerick:

A gal who looked red as a beet,
Was beat from a race in the heat.
Her attempt at unseating
The leader was fleeting;
She tripped and fell down on her seat.

Please feel free to write your own limerick(s) using the same rhyme word and post it in my comments. And if you’re on Facebook, I hope you’ll join my friends in that same activity on my Facebook Limerick-Off post.

It’s Limerick-Off time, once again. And that means I write a limerick, and you write your own, using the same rhyme word. Then you post your limerick as a comment to this post and, if you’re a Facebook user, on Facebook too.

I hope you’ll join me in writing a limerick using TACT or INTACT or TACKED or ATTACKED at the end of Line 1 or Line 2 or Line 5. (Homonyms or homophones are fine.)

Additionally, you may write a themed limerick related to WINTER, using any rhyme scheme. And of course I’ll present an extra award — one for the best winter-related limerick.

How will your poems be judged? By meter, rhyme, cleverness, and humor. (If you’re feeling a bit fuzzy about limerick writing rules, here’s my How To Write A Limerick article.)

I’ll announce the winners on Feb. 21, right before I post the next Limerick-Off. So that gives you two full weeks to submit your clever, polished verse. Your submission deadline is Saturday, Feb. 20 at 10:00 p.m. (Eastern Time.)

Here’s my limerick:

An editor lacking in tact
Said “This reads more like fiction, than fact.
It will never appear
On our pages, my dear;
We’d be sued and then have to retract.”

Said the writer, “My story is true,
And I used to have proof — quite a slew.
But my sources took flight
In the dead of the night
And my document files were hacked too.”

She continued, “I just need more time.
To obtain extra dirt on that slime.
Please be patient with me.
I can do it, you’ll see.
I’ll get proof of our publisher’s crime.”

Please feel free to write your own limerick(s) using the same rhyme word and post it in my comments. And if you’re on Facebook, I hope you’ll join my friends in that same activity on my Facebook Limerick-Off post.

After seeing a “Happy February” post, I suddenly remembered an ancient humor piece of mine about February. So I dug through my archives and found this column I sold to the Buffalo News way back in 1995. It feels like it was written by a different person: February Bashing.